Tag Archives: organic

Below are some super easy Popsicle recipes to get you and the kids through summer. I must admit they are my healthy treat at the end of the day when I’m craving something sweet. You can use any type of yoghurt, reduce fat or flavoured. I tend to have jalna organic natural or bush honey in my fridge. Also leftover mixture is really just a smoothy. Enjoy!

Mango
11/2 cups (420g) of yoghurt. Now I use Jalna’s organic yogurt with bush honey. You can use anything from vanilla to natural.
1/2 cup (125ml) of milk
1 mango. I scrap out all the flesh from the cheeks and around and off the seed.
1/4 cup (60ml) of light agave syrup.

Place into a blender and blend until smooth.
Let the mixture sit for a few minutes to get the bubbles out.
Pour into Popsicle moulds and freeze until solid.

Happy New Year! Wow. 2013 was quite challenging (more like First World problems challenging) – nothing in comparison to what I am sure millions of parents around the globe have to deal with every day when it comes to raising their children. I am feeling very lucky these days, too many bad news stories from hanging out with my friends that work for DOCS. We are still very blessed with our healthy little girl Rafaela, She will be two in 8 days! She has an amazing little personality these days. I have to say the most adorable thing is seeing her wiggle her bum when she is free of her nappy before her bath. It washes away the countless tantrums and leg clinging episodes we battle with throughout the day. Oh the joy!

What I do love about her age now is she can help me cook. She is so excited stirring and pounding pizza dough. I hope we can keep up the enthusiasm. Today she helped me make the fritters below and all she could say was “Oh wow” and “Yummy in my tummy”. Then she gobbled down three of them for dinner. I’m not quite sure that she understood, that what she was eating was what she helped me make. Regardless, she was eating a dinner littered with green, which was amazing enough.

I’m back at work full-time now, therefore the opportunity to really consider our meals has been limited and hence the lack of posts. Though the recent festive season (I hosted our family Christmas dinner) really ignited my love for menu planning, cooking and inventing! I’ve enjoyed an extra week off at work and armed with a few new cookbooks for Christmas, it’s game on!

As with the start of every New Year, I try to turn over a ‘new leaf’ in my eating habits and inflict these on to the hubby. This usually consists of weird grains and vegetables. He hates peas and isn’t really a fan of quinoa. We started off using quinoa instead of breadcrumbs on schnitzels. It was merely quinoa (cooked in vegetable stock) seasoned with salt, pepper and some sage on the chicken. Add a squeeze of lemon before serving with mash and greens. They worked out fantastic but didn’t photograph well. It was a really great way to pack in some extra protein, fibre and iron. With a great deal of left over quinoa, I started to look for different ways to use it and adapted this Donna Hay recipe. As I said, Rafaela hoovered these down, which makes me so happy! Andrew also went back for more… did I mention he hates peas! We both agreed that they tasted like Chinese fried rice. Random indeed!

I served them up with a green salad and a little bit of tomato relish (store bought) and can be eaten warm or cold. This recipe makes around 14 (I did lose 2 fritters during the process of cooking – Try using a spatula and spoon to flip them)

Pea, Chickpea & Quinoa Fritters

2 cups (250g) of cooked peas (Use wholefood organic peas)

1 x 450g can of chickpeas (Use organic chickpeas)

2 cups of cooked white quinoa

1 carrot, peeled and grated

1 spring onion, finely sliced

2 eggs

2 tablespoons of rice flour

2 tablespoons of vegetable or sunflower oil (more for cooking)

Sprinkle of ground cumin

Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper for seasoning.

Method

Roughly mash the peas and blend the chickpeas in a food processor. Place into a bowl with the quinoa, eggs, rice flour, oil, carrot, cumin and season with Salt & Pepper. Mix well to combine and sit aside.

Line a baking tray with non –stick baking paper and start to form ¼ cupful’s of the mixture in to thin patties. Lay the patties on the tray to set before shallow frying.

Heat the extra oil in a non-stick frypan over medium heat and cook, in batches, for 3-4minutes each side until golden. Drain on absorbent paper. The fritters can be served warm or cold.

I started cooking this dish during my pregnancy and it has now become a staple on the dinner menu. As a keen seafood eater, I was definitely disappointed to read about all the seafood products I could not consume, while pregnant. It was actually my downfall when I was desperately trying to keep my being pregnant a secret until we were past the ‘safe’ period. As soon as I unassumingly motioned away a prawn rice paper roll filled with bean sprouts, suspicion was rife! I am never one to turn down a rice paper roll, let alone food in general.

As you do when you fall pregnant, or as I did, was memorise the foods I had to avoid and start working on a meal plan. My body was going through so many physical changes, overnight I felt I couldn’t fit into my pants anymore. It was quickly dawning on me that I had to start eating better. Years of not eating breakfast, drinking too much and scoffing kebabs at all hours of the night/morning hadn’t done me any favours. So this monumental step change turned into 18 months of ‘dieting’ with a great deal of motivation. Trying to have and raise a healthy baby and losing the 20kgs I gained during my pregnancy. Now that is another post in itself!

So the experts say fish, are highly nutritious and should be consumed by adults and children, twice a week. Fish contain huge amounts of protein, are low in “bad” fats and contain Essential Fatty Acid (EFA’s) – Omega-3 fatty acids. The EFA’s in fish are not found in any other protein source.

The biggest implication when consuming a diet high in fish is the level of Mercury found in some. High levels of Mercury can cause developmental delays and it is recommended that pregnant women and children avoid those fish species high in Mercury. These include Shark (Flake), Ray, Swordfish, Barramundi, Gemfish, Orange Roughy, Ling and Southern Bluefin Tuna. Salmon on the other hand is a cold-water fish, low in Mercury and high in Omega 3’s.

Rafaela is starting to enjoy it. I have made her Salmon fish cakes and this recipe also. She gobbles it up. Raf is pretty inspiring when she eats like this, especially since it is was such a battle to get Andrew to try it and now he loves it too. I have also served this to friends and family a couple of times and it has gone down a treat. The great thing about this dish is you can jazz it up with the side accompaniments like Avocado Wasabi and Pickled Ginger. The Wasabi paste and Japanese Pickled Ginger can be found in Coles, I tend to stock up when they are on sale. These ingredients are easily accessible and affordable.

You can marinate the Salmon a few different ways. You can make a teriyaki sauce from scratch or you can buy a pre-made marinade. Ayam makes a great tasting sauce, without too many nasties in it. This is a super speedy meal. So depending on your preparation time and pantry items, you could go either way. For Rafaela, I use an organic soy sauce, crushed organic ginger and some lemon juice to marinate her Salmon in. Below are the recipes for both. Enjoy!

Teriyaki Sauce

60ml Soy Sauce

60ml Mirin (Japanese rice wine)*

Juice of 1/2 Lemon

1 teaspoon of crushed Ginger

Rafaela’s Teriyaki Sauce

(Based on a piece of salmon width and thickness of her palm, about 1inch wide and high)

2 tablespoons of Organic Tamari Soy Sauce

½ teaspoon of crushed Ginger

Splash of Lemon juice

Ingredients (serves 4)

4 x 180g skinless Salmon fillets

Teriyaki sauce as above or pre-made Ayam Teriyaki Marinade.

1 tablespoon of Sunflower oil

180g of Organic Soba Noodles (I use Hakubaku brand noodles, pack of 3 x 90g, found in Coles and Woolworths)

1 teaspoon of Sesame seeds

1 Spring Onion thinly sliced

Splash of Sesame oil

3 teaspoons of Wasabi paste, or to taste

2 Avocados, flesh scooped

Japanese pickled ginger

Method

Place the Salmon in a zip lock bag with the teriyaki sauce and leave it to marinate for as long as possible, overnight is great. Otherwise a minimum of 1hr is fine. Mix up the avocado and wasabi together and set aside.

Heat the sunflower oil in a large non-stick frypan over a medium heat. Remove the salmon from the bag, reserving any remaining marinade. Cook for 2-3 minutes each side until cooked but a little rare in the centre. Add the reserved marinade and allow to bubble for 1 minute. If you like your Salmon well cooked, then gently press on the thickest part with your finger, looking for spring back.

Boil water for noodles and cook according to the packet instructions. They usually take about 4 min. Once the noodles are cooked, strain and add a dash of sesame oil, sesame seeds and spring onions. Serve salmon with noodles and avocado wasabi. You can also add steamed vegetables such as; snow peas, broccolini or carrots.

For your baby, the obvious omits from this recipe, is the avocado wasabi and the spring onions. I tend to keep some mashed avocado aside to serve with some extra vegetables. If you are cautious about cooking oils, then consider cooking the salmon with some Coconut oil.

Here is a simple recipe from Donna Hay’s latest cook book ‘Fresh & Light’. I have been looking for simple, healthy recipes that are freezer friendly and it has so many easy recipes that use fresh ingredients.

Patties, burgers, cakes, rissoles, meatballs… however you want to define food rolled up and then pan fried or baked is fine by me. All I can say is, these little round morsels of food are making a huge comeback in our household these days. It is the ultimate odds and ends recipe, using up odd vegetables and the staple mincemeat or that odd can of chickpeas from the pantry. So this is the start of the Palm series. I say palm as I make them all the size of Rafaela’s palm (the recommended portion size) for her and everyone really. So watch this space, over the coming weeks I will be focusing on all things…. Round!

Lentils are a great addition to your little bubba choo’s diet; High in protein, so great for Vegetarians. They also tend to take on the flavours that they are cooked with, Making them very versatile. You might want to start with Red lentils, they are slightly lower in fibre so they don’t produce as much gas as brown and green ones. They also cook to mushier consistency. Some suggestions for Lentil include; cook them in a homemade broth, mash them with vegetables, Use them as a thickener or throw them into a soup or casserole. They would require 20min of cooking. Always thoroughly rinse lentils as they are prone to debris. This recipe calls for a can of brown lentils. These are readily available as all supermarkets. You can also get organic varieties, which I have used below.

These little Falafels are very tasty and are not deep fried. Like most falafels, they are best served with a sauce. So I’ve included the one from the original recipe. Rafaela gobbled these down, while smearing the yoghurt sauce all over her face. They freeze really well and are a great meal or snack option. These are perfect for the whole family. I found them a great finger food for parties.

Lentil Falafels (makes 12)

1 x 400g can brown organic lentils, drained and rinsed.

1 cup (70g) fresh breadcrumbs

100g Ricotta

1 egg

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ coriander leaves

1 teaspoon of finely grated lemon rind

Sea salt and black pepper

Sunflower oil or macadamia nut oil for brushing

Garlic Yoghurt Sauce

1 cup thick plain yoghurt

2 garlic cloves crushed

2 tablespoons of Tahini paste

2 table spoons of lemon juice

2 table spoons of chopped chives

Method:

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees (450F). To make the garlic yoghurt sauce, combine the yoghurt, garlic, tahini, lemon juice and chives. Set aside.

Place the lentils, breadcrumbs ricotta, egg, cumin, coriander, lemon, salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is just combined. Shape 2 tablespoonful’s of the mixture into small patties and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper. Brush the patties lightly with oil and bake for 10 minutes each side or until crisp.

Now that I’m back at work, we celebrate the weekend and what better way to celebrate than with a big hearty breakfast. Saturday’s are reserved for Bacon and Eggs. If you ever wanted to know what food I could not live without, it would be eggs. I could open up a café and just serve eggs, any which way. Sunday’s breakfast is either eggs again, served a different way or Pancakes. I found this recipe on the Wholesome Baby Food site. It was one of the first finger foods I made for Rafaela. It’s perfect for breakfast or as a snack. The recipe makes enough for the whole family and more, enough to freeze for later. I like this pancake recipe because it feels healthier and has a real depth of flavour… until you slather it in syrup.

I use Quinoa flour, which makes a denser pancake than you may be used to, however there is a little technique I use to make them fluffier. If you separate the egg yolks from the whites, whip up the whites until white and foamy then fold them in to the mix before you start to cook. You can do this making any pancake recipe and you will notice the difference.

There are a few substitutions below in regards to milk and flour. I also substitute one of the eggs for a banana, it adds a little something different to the taste and this would be the appropriate substitute for any egg allergies.

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Combine the wet ingredients in another bowl and whisk together until a bit frothy. (For fluffier pancakes, separate the yolks from the whites. Whisk the whites until white and frothy and fold into the mixture before you are about to cook)

Fold the liquid mixture into the dry mix and stir until just combined.

Lightly grease a non-stick frying pan with; coconut oil, butter or olive oil. Heat the pan on a high to medium heat. You need the pan relatively hot but not smoking.

Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, pour batter onto a heated frying pan

Flip pancakes when they have bubbles throughout. If you were to add fresh fruit, sprinkle them into the batter before you flip.

It’s back to school week. While the traffic gets worse, the trains fill up with kids and the feeling of summer holidays fade, I have to return to work. This wouldn’t normally bother me, well it hasn’t in the last year that I’ve been on maternity leave but now my real juggling act begins. So far it has been pretty stable transition, easing into work while Rafaela has been slowing engaging in day care activities and it seems like she is adapting well. It is really hard to leave her after spending so much time together. However I can already see her growing and learning so much. She still crawls commando style and is absolutely filthy when she gets home but she is almost up on to her feet and can say “bye” and “up”.

I am still in two minds about heading back to work. I am happy to be back and stimulated again, however I miss being at home and moving at our own pace. I really enjoyed having time cook and consider meals. Now that’s reserved for the weekends. Before Rafaela (circa 2011), my husband Andrew, would cook up Spag Bol as it’s his favourite meal. Everyone has their version, Spaghetti Bolognese is the quintessential family staple meal… right. This one is Dad’s and Rafaela absolutely loves it. It will be high on the weekday rotation in this house!

Ingredients (Makes – A fair bit)

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 small onion

1 glove of garlic

1 organic carrot, grated

1 organic zucchini

¼ red capsicum

1 cup organic beef or vegetable stock

250g of organic mince (beef or pork/veal) – I’ve use the Aldi Brand of Organic Beef.

1 x 400g can of organic diced tomatoes

1 small dried bay leaf

Pinch of dried herbs; oregano & thyme

Pinch of pepper

Method

Heat the oil in a saucepan (large enough to hold 5 cups of liquid). Using a food processor finely chop the onion and garlic together. Transfer to the saucepan and cook until soft. In the mean-time add the zucchini and capsicum to the food processor and chop finely. Add grated carrot to the pan and combine well. Cook for 2 minutes and then add the mince. Use a wooden spoon to break up the mince. Once the meat is no longer pink, add the dried herbs & pepper and stir. Then add the zucchini and capsicum, stock, tomatoes, stir to combine. Bring to boil and then simmer for minimum 20min to 1 hour or until the liquid has reduced.

Serve with Organic Spaghetti, Wholemeal Spaghetti or rice or couscous, anything you want. Rafaela likes to slurp up the noodles. She is so fascinated by the action. We just cut the noodles into manageable sizes. This meal is also extremely freezer friendly and obviously enjoyed by mum & dad too.

What a year! Rafaela has absolutely transformed my life forever. I don’t think I have learned so much about my husband, or myself than I have in the last 12 months and I know we have not even scratched the surface. It has been an amazing journey so far and we feel truly blessed. We have to keep telling ourselves “she is our daughter”. When we look back on the thousands [and I mean thousands] of photos, I’m surprised at how much she has grown and the vast amount of memories we have created in just one year. It is exhilarating!

I’ve also reclaimed the joy of cooking as she has inspired us to eat better as a family and to try new foods. The hubby even enjoyed sugar free pancakes, although they were drenched in maple syrup. As you become a parent and a new mum, actually from the moment you announce you’re pregnant, the advice just rolls in and you yourself can’t help but impart any little nugget you have found out that might help another new mum. These are the things I thought about when I decided to start this blog. I had spent so much time researching about solids that it would make me so happy if anything I post here can help save you some time, and give you more time with your bubba choo.

In this post, I thought I would re-cap what I’ve learned and the 12 commandments I now live by;

Steam and bake as much food as you can, why? Dr Jennifer Barham-Floreani (author of Well Adjusted Babies) believes cooking for longer and at lower temperatures preserves the natural goodness of vegetables more than any other cooking method. A bamboo steamer is a cheap and effective solution over baby food makers;

Fruit naturally sweetens;

Flavour with herbs and spices, not salt. Cinnamon is a must!

Protein should be the width and length of your baby’s hand. I should practice what I preach here with my own plate;

Always have green on the plate, even if it’s herbs. Green Foods are Super Foods;

Buy organic food where possible. Why? No pesticides and herbicides and certified organic is GM free (genetically modified) Also it it getting far more cheaper and more readily available at your local supermarket;

Start reading and understanding food labels. I avoid foods with preservatives, unnecessary salts, sugars and what’s with the numbers? They are not ingredients;

Texture, texture, texture! It will help avoid a fussy eater and it’s fun to watch their facial expressions;

Once your baby is around the 10month mark, start considering how you can adapt your adult meals for baby, omitting sugar & salt and in my case Chilli. I will remove Rafaela’s portions before I season;

Try and cut finger foods into strips rather than squares. You will find your baby picking them up first working towards cubes;

Buy seasonal fruit and vegetables, its cheaper and tastier;

Commercial baby food is NOT that bad at all. Always go for the organic brands. Woolworth Macro Wholefoods is great, Only Organic, Organic Bubs, Raffertys Garden. Buy them on sale (usually at Woolies) and keep them for those ‘Fast Food’ moments. My advice is to pair it with Quinoa to add more texture. It travels well at room temperature.

These are all pretty stock standard and you will find most of this information in baby food cookbooks and from your baby nurses. This advice has worked for me and I hope it works for you (what’s a mum without giving advice). Thank you for reading. I hope you stick around, I have many more recipes to come.

Here is a delicious little treat for you and bub, just in time for the scorcher about to hit tomorrow here in Sydney – 42 degrees and baking! Also if you’re on a bit of post festive season, pre Australia Day detox like me then this is the kind of treat your after.

This is a great substitute for craving ice-cream after dinner, which is my current downfall. We are trying to eat together as a family. I’m hoping Rafaela clues onto using her own spoon by watching us. So far we just have her wanting our and refusing to eat out of her bowl unless it comes from either mine or her dads. Eating together means eating super early for me, like at 6:30 pm. In my former life I was likely to be at work or on the train at that time. The task for us in the coming weeks as I plan on heading back to work is to maintain our dinner time, therefore the freezer will be my new best friend!

The below recipe is for Blueberry & Banana flavour. You can substitute or make many different combinations. Think about Raspberries, Mango, Strawberries and Banana. Once your bub is old enough you can use Honey. However this recipe uses Agave Syrup, easily available at Coles or Woolworths. We also use Organic full fat Yoghurt. Babies need full fat products until the age of two. I use Macro Foods Organic Greek Yoghurt or Jalna Bio Dynamic Organic Whole Milk Yoghurt. These are both staples in the fridge. For adults, try reduced fat vanilla yoghurt.

You don’t need to make them into Popsicle’s. I did picked up some cute moulds from Ikea for $2.99 last week. I’ve also made some smaller baby friendly portions in Ice cube trays. You can easily put this into a freezer friendly tub and scoop it out like normal frozen yoghurt.

Stay Cool!

Frozen Yoghurt Popsicles (makes about 1 litre)

Ingredients:

1 Cup (280g) of organic plain yoghurt (see above)

½ cup (125ml) Soy Milk or Full Fat Milk

1 Banana

1 Cup (150g) fresh or frozen blueberries

¼ cup (60ml) of Agave Syrup or Maple Syrup

Method:

Place all the ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth. Pour into your moulds and freeze for 4-6 hours.

To remove the Popsicle from the case, run under warm water or place in a cup of warm water.

There is plenty to fill up 6 Popsicle moulds and a decent amount of ice cubes.

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day! It’s also the meal of the day that I find Rafaela the most alert and willing to try new things. Looking for new breakfast options is always on my agenda. I try not to get stuck into feeding her porridge and toast every morning. This recipe is very yummy, super easy and can be a great as a summer salad for the whole family. Just add seasonal vegetables like asparagus or zucchini, seasoning and rocket.

Sweet Orange Couscous (this is enough to serve 12)

Ingredients:

2 cups of organic Couscous

2 cups of boiling water

½ cup of Orange Juice. Try and use one with pulp, I use Nudie’s Nothing but 21 oranges with pulp

1 orange

2 small carrots peeled, pre-steamed and grated

Sprinkle of cumin & LSA meal (Ground Linseed, Sunflower and Almonds)

Method:

Place couscous in a heat proof bowl. Add boiling water. Cover and set aside to absorb the water. This should take about 5 minutes. Fluff with fork to separate the grains.

Meanwhile, peel and segment the oranges. Do this over a bowl to catch the juice. Make sure you remove the white membrane. Either cube or leave as segments.

Add orange juice, orange pieces, carrot, shake of cumin and LSA meal to the couscous. For younger babies, blend in a food processor with a little extra liquid (Water/breast milk/formula/juice).

If you want to make a small portion for just baby use the following measurements; 2 tablespoons of Couscous, ½ cup of orange juice, 1 carrot and ¾ of boiling water.

Happy Holidays! Had I mentioned I love Turkey, did you almost devour a whole bird like I did? Raffy too had her fill of Turkey, amongst other things. I can say we will definitely need a bigger house after the loot she made off with. We managed to sustain her enthusiasm for ripping paper and eating it over three days of events and also managed to manoeuvre her from porter cot to car seat without too much drama. I did feel bad that she was missing out on the amazing feast of seafood and cold meats and of course the desserts. In between her meals of paper, she loved to munch down on her Turkey nuggets. I cut them into strips so she could eat them with her hands. The leftovers would be stirred through some sweet potato mash.

I found this recipe on the Wholesome Baby food site. I’ve adjusted it slightly for Australian kitchens and produce. They are extremely simple, not at all dry, freeze extremely well and make a great finger food. They are Suitable for babies aged 9 months and older, you can mash the nuggets apart into bits and pieces that can be easily chewed and picked up. You can also chop or lightly puree if needed. You can also substitute the Turkey for chicken mince which is relatively easy to find in the supermarket. Woolworths has a great organic range.

Homemade Finger Licking Nuggets (makes 25-30)

Ingredients:

500g Turkey or Chicken Mince

1/2 cup wholegrain raw oats

1/2 cup wholegrain breadcrumbs

1 egg (you can substitute the egg for 1 tablespoon of natural apple sauce or water)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Spice mix (1/4 teaspoon each or shake) – sage, thyme, pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Add all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until nicely combined

With moist hands, shape mixture into nuggets or logs or anything you please.